Manchester Digital has聽appointed Alison Ross as its new chair.
Ross, customer experience and operations director at Auto Trader, has been appointed to lead the continued growth of the independent trade association for Greater Manchester鈥檚 digital and technology sector.
Her first task as chair is to ensure that the organisation’s new governance structure is widely adopted and working to benefit all members.
鈥淢anchester Digital has had a very strong year, and I鈥檓 thrilled to have been chosen to steer its future growth,鈥� said Ross.
鈥淎s an organisation we have a tremendous opportunity to instigate real change, tackling the issues which are currently facing the rapidly moving digital sector, and I鈥檓 incredibly excited to get started.
鈥淢anchester is among the foremost digital cities in Europe, and Manchester Digital has played a vital supporting role in attaining this status.
鈥淭he challenge facing us now is to adapt, change and grow to ensure that we continue to play an integral part in establishing Manchester as one of the top five digital hubs by 2020, as pledged by Andy Burnham in his July digital summit.鈥�
Tom Cull, COO of iProspect, has been appointed as vice chair and will support Ross and the newly expanded board in delivering a raft of new projects and initiatives due to launch in 2018.
To support the new governance structure four new board members have been elected: Hilary Stephenson, managing director at Sigma; Chris Marsh, founder at Agents Of; Monica Tailor, head of digital at Mccann Manchester; and Shaun Fensom, freelancer and founding partner at Manchester Digital.
The new structure is intended to facilitate increased member engagement, providing more opportunities for existing members to contribute to policy implementation, as well as the overall direction the organisation will take.
Katie Gallagher, managing director at Manchester Digital, added: 鈥淎lison has made a huge contribution to Manchester Digital since joining the board two years ago and she has a great vision for the future of the organisation. It鈥檚 incredibly important that Manchester Digital evolves and keep pace with the industry, and the new governance structure makes this much easier to do.
The new board will hold their first meeting in January 2018.
To find out more about Manchester Digital, or become a member, please visit聽